School’s Out Washington Presentation to Skagit County Law & Justice Council Feb. 10, 2010 Janet Frieling, Network Director Shannon Ginn, Communications & Project Coordinator

Mission School’s Out Washington’s mission is to provide services and guidance for organizations to ensure all young people have safe places to learn and grow when not in school. School’s Out is dedicated to building community systems to support quality afterschool programs for Washington’s 5-18 year olds through training, advocacy, and leadership.

Role of an Intermediary Agency Convening and networking Knowledge development and dissemination Standards identification and setting Training Advocacy and representation Accountability

Definition of Afterschool “Extending Learning” Education Goal: Increase academic achievement “Afterschool” Youth & Community Development Goal: Prevent juvenile crime & promote positive youth development “School-Age Care” Child Care & Development Goal: Support working families

The Focus of Our Work TRAINING ADVOCACY FUNDING LEADERSHIP

WASHINGTON AFTERSCHOOL NETWORK The Statewide Action Arm for School’s Out Washington

Washington Afterschool Network Goal 1: Create a sustainable structure of statewide, regional, and local partnerships, particularly school/community partnerships, focused on supporting statewide policy development. Goal 2: Support the development and growth of statewide policies that will secure the resources that are needed to sustain new and existing afterschool programs. Goal 3: Support statewide systems to ensure programs are of high quality.

Washington Afterschool Network Who is this for? Afterschool program providers serving ages 5-18, 21st Century programs, parents, systems partners, elected officials, funders, advocates, anyone who is interested!

Washington Afterschool Network What does the network do? Creates a broad based mobilization of stakeholders for children’s issues Increases support for policies and funding for afterschool programs Increases public awareness Makes a higher level of quality programming available in more communities Creates a statewide vision

Achievement Grant: Healthy Youth, Healthy Communities Goal: Engage and connect with a diverse set of community stakeholders to strengthen the afterschool field’s role in developing and supporting healthy behaviors in youth people. Activities: Tool kits Journal articles Policy work Professional development

Research on the Benefits of Afterschool and Youth Development and Latest Findings in Washington State

Number of WA kids left unsupervised afterschool Source: Overturf Johnson, J. Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Winter Current Population Reports, p

Crime rates peaks when school is out Source: Sickmund M., Snyder H.N., Poe-Yamagata E., “Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1997 Update on Violence,” National Center for Juvenile Justice; & Fight Crime, Invest in Kids.

Children’s minds don’t stop at 3:00 pm…. or in the summer Only 20% of a child’s waking hours are spent in school Research shows that well-designed after school programs yield numerous improvements in behavioral and academic outcomes Low-income children lose 2-3 months of achievement each summer

Why Afterschool Matters? Reduction in the following problem behaviors: –Aggression –Noncompliance –Truancy –Drug use Miller, B. Critical Hours (2003). “Kids who spend their out-of-school time unsupervised are 75% more likely to use cigarettes or drugs, three times more likely to be suspended from high school, and six times more likely to drop out of school by their senior year.” – Zill, N.C. et al. (1995). Adolescent Time Use, Risky Behavior, and Outcomes: An Analysis of National Data. Westat: Rockville, MD.

Statistically significant positive effects of afterschool* EffectsProgram Overall School performance -Achievement testsX -School grades X -School attendance**X Social behavior -Social skillsX -Problem behaviorsX -Reduced drug useX Durlak and Weissberg, The Impact of after-school programs that promote personal and social skills from the Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning; **Vandell, D., Reisner, E., & Pierce, K. (2007). Outcomes linked to high-quality afterschool programs: Longitudinal findings from the study of promising afterschool programs.

Features of quality programs Appropriate structure and supervision Well-prepared staff Intentional programming Partnering with families Partnering with other CBOs Partnering with schools

Supply and Demand Study of Afterschool and Youth Development Programs in Washington State Study Findings

Key Findings: Supply Supply: 8,000 programs, 147,000 kids ,000 youth It appears that there is a sizable amount of capacity, perhaps as much as twice the number of children and youth being served. Source: School’s Out Washington Afterschool and Youth Development Program Provider Survey (2008)

Parents and youth identified barriers to participation Cost Transportation Knowledge about programs Hours of operation- summer & evenings Capacity

More findings from focus groups More programs for “tweens” & teens More responsive to youths’ needs and interests Both parents and kids need to know what programs are available More quality programs

On-Time Graduation Rates Kids Count Data Center. Available at:

Where do we go from here? Outreach Investment Collaboration Program Improvement

Questions? Janet Frieling Shannon Ginn